World Dairy Expo releases farm tour schedule

World Dairy Expo recently released its virtual farm tour line-up for this year’s event, to take place Oct. 3-7 in Madison, Wis.

All virtual farm tours are held in the Exhibition Hall, which is located on the grounds of the AlliantEnergyCenter in Madison, Wis.

Here is the 2006 virtual farm tour line-up as of June 13, 2006:

Tuesday, Oct. 3

Noon – Blaken Farms LLC, Melrose, Wis., Learn how this 520-cow dairy transitioned from milking about 230 cows at several locations to milking the entire herd at a new facility on 1,200 acres.

2 p.m. – Shiloh Dairy LLC, Brillion, Wis., Come see the new technology that this 1,200-cow dairy uses, including a sand-flotation lane that allows the dairy to re-use sand and reduce bedding cost.

Wednewsday, Oct. 4

Noon – Braunsdale Holsteins Ltd., Blumenort, Manitoba, Canada, Braunsdale Holsteins is a 600-cow dairy. A fire in 2003 left the farm in need of new facilities. Find out how the six-row covered building system that they chose is working for them.

2 p.m. – Fiscalini Farms, Modesto, Calif., Fiscalini Farms, which milks 1,700 cows, has been making farmstead cheese since 2000. The family’s cheeses have been honored as the “Best Farmhouse Cheese in America” for three years in a row.

Friday, Oct. 6

Noon – Wayside Dairy, Greenleaf, Wis., Wayside Dairy is home to 1,200 cows. Learn how the dairy re-built, re-focused and grew the herd after a barn fire.

2 p.m. – Five Star Dairy, Elk Mound, Wis., This 875-cow dairy recently build a manure digester. The digester helps power 600 local homes. Odor reduction also is a cost-saving benefit that the owners enjoy.

Saturday, Oct. 7

2 p.m. – Indian Trail Farm, ByronCenter, Mich., Come see this 770-cow dairy’s covered-manure storage system and the forage-storage structures that allow the fourth-generation farm to manage forage quality.